Detachable bit ratchet hand tool

ABSTRACT

A detachable bit ratchet hand tool having an axially aligned handle bit and adapter and a ratchet means coupling the handle and bit adapter for selective combination, reverse and forward driving, and a spring in said adapter for quick-connect and quick-release engagement of tool bits.

United States Patent inventor Russell E. McLogan l-lillsdale, Mich. 752,952 Aug. 15, 1968 Jan. 12, 1971 Vaco Products Company a corporation of Illinois Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee DETACHABLE BIT RATCHET HAND TOOL 3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

lnt.Cl. 825g 3/12 Field ofSearch 145/75, 72, 70; 279/23, 102; 81/60, 61, 62, 63.1

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1903 Vanderbeek 3,321,209 5/1967 Sanders 3,416,582 12/1968 Jenks 145/50 FOREIGN PATENTS 357,845 10/1931 Great Britain 145/75 415,280 10/1946 ltaly 145/75 Primary Examiner-Robert C. Riordon Assistant Examiner-Roscoe V. Parker, Jr. Att0rneyDress1er, Goldsmith, Clement & Gordon ABSTRACT: A detachable bit ratchet hand tool having an axially aligned handle bit and adapter and a ratchet means coupling the handle and bit adapter for selective combination, reverse and forward driving, and a spring in said adapter for quick-connect and quick-release engagement of tool bits.

tool with a selection of tool bits whose heads may vary in v design and function. I a t The complex mechanical equipment of today is so constructed, that service of it generally requires a vast array of hand tools, which may only differ in the design and function of the associated bit heads-In. order for a technician performing assembly, installation or maintenance work to have this required array of hand tools, he frequently mustpurchase a substantial number of separate, single purpose hand tools whose bits vary .only in. head design andfunction. Especially when he desires hand tools which combine the eificiency of -a ratchet mechanism and the function of a particular bit, the

technician is put to great expense. Such single purpose tools also presented problems of space consumption and weightin transporting them from one job location to another.

While it is recognized that rachet-type replaceable bit hand tools have been available in the market, it is an advantage-of this invention to provide a simpler, more efficient, and less expensive tool whichcombines the advantages of a ratcheting hand tool, for such as screwdrivers, nut drivers, taps, while providing ameans for permitting. the quicker and easier removal and replacement or substitution of snap-in bits.

' Another important advantage of this invention is that it provides a detachable bit hand tool wherein the handle, ratchet I ing mechanism and snap-in bit are so firmly combined that the assembly works together as efficiently as a one piece tool.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be'apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which show the structure embodying preferred features of the present invention and the principles thereof, and what is presently considered to be the best mode in which to apply these principles.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal view, partially in section, of a hand tool of this invention retaining ascrewdriver bit; y

F IG. 2 is a fragmentary topview of FIG. l'with certain portions removed for clarity, viewed as though taken substantially along line 2-2 of FIG. 1; q i I I FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line3-3ofFlG. l; '1 7 FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view. taken substantially along the FIG. 5 is a cross-sectionalview taken substantially along the I Rear segment 26 definesan axial fbore132fn'ctionally retaining a ball bearing 34.,Forwardsection defines a cylindrical bearing opening 36 which is coaxial with bore 32 to cooperate therewith in rotatably joumaling the driving portion-of the i tool. I l

The driving portion of tool which is adapted :to rotate with respect to grip 14 includes a shaft 38 having a rear end proportioned to be rotatably journaled within axial bore 32 and to thrust against ball bearing34. Preferably rear end is chamfered to provide asmooth fit within bore 32 and to provide proper seating against ball bearing 34.

Moving to the right, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 6. shaft 38 increases in diameter whereat it is provided with one or more flats 42. A pinion 44 having a plurality of. teeth 46 is corotatably secured'to shaft 38, the pinion defining acentral opening complementary to flats 42 .to corotationally key the pinion to the shaft. Thesize of the shaft of flats 42 and the complementary bore of pinion 44 are proportioned so that pinion 44 becomes press fit on the shaft to prevent axial movement of the pinion therealong. In that manner pinion 44 is corotatably and permanently positioned with respect to shaft 38.

Moving again to the right in FIG. 1, shaft 38 defines .a bore adapted to receive a roll pin 48 and to the right thereof defines a longitudinally knurled section. adapted to be press fit .into adapter 18. In this manner adapter 18 is corotatably secured to shaft 38. At the very end of shaft 38 a pair of staking prongs 54 are provided. Prongs 54 are staked inwardly to grip and anchor spring 56 to the end of shaft 38. A chordal key 60 is provided to prevent axial removal of the interconnected adapter 18 and shaft 38 from ratchet housing 24. Key 60 conforms at one edge to the shape of the external surface of housing 24 and at its other edgepresents a chordal segment closely adjacent pinion 44 internally of housing 24. Chordal key 60 is frictionally held in a complementary slot in ratchet housing 24 and is secured against accidental removal by se sleeve 62 which is secured in covering relation to ratchet housing 24 by screw 64 received in a complementary threaded opening in ratchet housing 24 When pinion 44 andthe associated-shaft 38 are so restrained against axial movement, shaft 38 and interconnected adapter 18' are. journaled for rotation within axial bore 32 and within coaxial bearing opening 36 in forward section 28. Cylindrical; bearing segment 66 of adapter 18 is rotatably received within opening-36 and rear end 40 is rotatably journaled in coaxial bore 32.

To provide for selective forward, reverse or; combination driving, means cooperable with pinion 44are provided. Those Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to FIG; 1, a I

ratchet hand tool 10 incorporating the features "and advantages of the present invention is shown cooperatively as.- sembled with a detachable bit 12. Bit 12 is illustrated herein in the exemplary form of a screwdriver blade. Tool whats a bandle portion or grip l4, an axia lly aligned adapter 18) and a ratchet mechanism 16 ,coupling grip 14 to adapter 18 and in line therewith. Adapter 18 retains the shank 20 of bit 12 within tool 10.

Grip 14 of tool ,10 is of any appropriate shape and is formed by molding a suitable material, such as a cellulose acetate. and cellulose butyrate resin (sold by Eastman Chemical underthe tradename Tenite-Butyrate") or-other materials well known for the purpose. The illustrated gri'p has a conventional fluted exterior that-serves to aid in gripping and in preventing slippage in use. Preferably gripv l4 ismolded with a bore adapted means comprise a pair of pawls 70 and means for selectively engaging the pawlswith the teeth'46 of-pinion 44.

As. best seen in FIGS? 1- and 2, each of the pawls-70 is a planar stamping having a pair-of ears 72, a mainv body section 73 and a pinion engaging pawl segment 74 projecting intothe projected cylinder of the pinion teeth 46. ln thetcombination driving position, the pawl segment 74 of each of the pawls 70 projects into said projectedcylinder of the pinion teethwhich,

.as will be explained, prevents rotation of the. pinionand non nected shaft to adapt thetool 10 for combinationdriving'FlG. l

As seen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 6, ears 72 of pawls 70 are seated in recesses 76 in ratchet housing 24. Two pairs of such recesses are .provided, one pair adjacent each of the rearsegmentnand forward section of housing 24. These recesses'have outwardlyand downwardly slopingfioors. 78; The sloping, floors: terminate. inwardly (as viewedin FIGS. 1 and 6) in upward extensions 79 of the open cavity defining portion r 3,0? of. ratchetj housing 24, which extensionsserve to prevent movementof Extension22 isproperly sized, proportioned and constructed 3 with respect to the grip bore so that it is tightly'and frictionally held against removal from the bore;

Ratchet housing 24, forwardly ofextension 22,, comprises a cylindrical body comprising a rear segment 26, a forward section 28 and an intermediate open cavity 30 for mounting or 7'5 supportingthe tool operating mechanism.

- the pawls axially of the tool to retain them in recesses76. Ex

tensions 79 also serve to restrain lateral movementof. the pawls 70because they lie adjacent main bodysection73.

Pawl segments 74 are selectively engageable with and disengageable from teeth 46' of pinion 44 via a finger'orthumb operable selector member 80made of spring steel; Selector member" 80 comprises a central ribbed thumb piece 82 from whichdepend integral spring arms 84. .Arms84aproject out-' wardly and downwardly at angles of about 20 from thumb piece 82 and are urged against the confronting surfaces of pawls 70, i.e., main body sections 73. The ends of the arms 84 are adapted to slide along those surfaces. When the end of one of the arms is moved to the vicinity of cars 72 and there overlies the sloping floors 78 of one of the recesses 76, arm 84 will pivot the ear-end of the pawl 70 downwardly toward sloping floors 78, thereby elevating the pawl segment out of engagement with pinion teeth 46 as illustrated in phantom in FIG. 3 and in FIG. 6.

Referring further to FIG. 3, as pinion 44 moves counterclockwise, teeth 46 will contact the remaining engaged pawl segment 74. As a tooth 46 contacts pawl segment 74, tooth 46 will bias it upwardly against the action of the spring arm acting against it, thereby allowing the pinion and the corotatable shaft and adapter to move with respect to the handle grip 14. However, when, as viewed in FIG. 3. pinion 44 is moved in a clockwise direction it is stopped by pawl segment 74, which is restrained from lateral movement by adjacent extension 79, thereby preventing relative rotation of the grip with respect to the pinion, the associated shaft and adapter, as well as bit l2. This will provide for forward driving. Reverse driving will be obtained by sliding movement of the selector member 80 to operate against the pawls oppositely as illustrated in FIG. 6.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 6, the thumb piece 82 of selector member 80 projects through an axial slot 90 in sleeve 62. A protective collar 92 defining an opening substantially coextensive with thumb piece 82 overlies arms 84 and covers them through the entire length of movement of thumb piece 82 within slot 90. Thumb piece 82 preferably defines a pair of opposed dimples 94 which are receivable with pairs of complementary notches (not shown) extending inwardly of the periphery of slot 90. The dimples are' received within the notches to releasably position thumb piece 82 in its three positions of adjustment. The centermost pair of notches positions the thumb piece so that both pawl segments 74 are interlocked with the pinion teeth for combination driving FIGS. 1 and 2), whereas the two outermost pairs of the notches retain thumb piece 82 in a position in which the pawl segments are arranged, alternatively, to allow forward and reverse driving, one of which positions is illustrated in FIG. 3 and the other of which is illustrated in FIG. 6, respectively. When the mode of driving is to be change, downward pressure against the thumb piece will disengage dimples 94 and the associated pair of notches to allow sliding movement of the selector member to one of the other driving positions.

As stated, staking prongs 54 are staked over (FIG. 4) to retain and position spring 56 at the end of shaft 38. Spring 56 is generally horseshoe or U-shaped in side view (FIG. 1) and has a pair of confronting arms 100 which are adapted to grip a complementary end portion of bit 12. Thus the end of bit 12 is provided with a pair of opposed concave recesses 98 into which the spring arms urge the ends of arms 100, thereby to snap-engage the ends within recesses 98 to resist removal of the bit. The tips of arms 100 are bowed outwardly to cam the arm ends apart as the end of bit 12 is inserted.

Adapter 18 defines a socket to receive the end of bit 12 and a keyway 102 spaced away from and forwardly of spring 56 (as viewed in FIG. 1 Keyway 102 is proportioned to slidably receive the end 104 of bit 12 which is provided with a pair of opposed flats to orient the bit end 104 with respect to arms 100 and to corotatably secure bit 12 to adapter I8. Thus bit 12 is supported at two spaced pi points, is corotatable with adapter 18 and is axially restrained against removal from hand tool 10. Preferably shank I 20 of bit 12 is of a diameter which mates with adapter bore 106 to minimize the possibility of wobble, although the extended axial length of keyway 102 is generally sufficient for that purpose.

It is clear that bits other than the screwdriver blade bit illustrated may be used in accordance with this invention. For example, Phillips bits, nut driver bits, spline bits, Robertson bits, and the like, each having an appropriately configured tool insertion end may be used. In each instance, a quick pull releases the bit end from spring 56 and a quick push remserts a new bit, making the tool of this invention universal for a wide variety of bits.

Thus, it is clear that the ratchet hand tool of this invention presents many advantages not heretofore available in a single tool.

lclaim:

l. A detachable bit hand tool comprising an axially aligned grip and bit adapter, ratchet means coupling and in line with said grip and said adapter, said ratchet means comprising a shaft, a pinion corotatably secured thereto, a pair of pawls and selector means in engagement with said pawls, said selector means being movable to combination, forward and reverse driving positions in which positions the pawls are selectively engaged with and disengaged from said pinion, and a bit holder comprising a generally U-shaped spring anchored to one end of said shaft and positioned within said adapter, said adapter defining a socket confronting said U-shaped spring to receive one end of a bit, a bit, said bit and said socket defining interlocking keying means to corotatably seat and retain said bit within said adapter, whereby when said selector means is moved to combination driving position, the handle and adapter are locked for corotation and when said selector means is moved to reverse and forward driving positions the grip and adapter are locked for corotation in one direction of rotation only.

2. In the detachable bit hand tool of claim 1 in which said shaft defines a pair of prongs staked over to anchor said U- shaped spring to said shaft.

3. In the detachable bit hand tool of claim 1 in which said U- shaped spring is horseshoe-shaped and said bit end defines concave sections snap-connectable to said spring for quickrelease and quick-connection of the bit to the hand tool. 

1. A detachable bit hand tool comprising an axially aligned grip and bit adapter, ratchet means coupling and in line with said grip and said adapter, said ratchet means comprising a shaft, a pinion corotatably secured thereto, a pair of pawls and selector means in engagement with said pawls, said selector means being movable to combination, forward and reverse driving positions in which positions the pawls are selectively engaged with and disengaged from said pinion, and a bit holder comprising a generally U-shaped spring anchored to one end of said shaft and positioned within said adapter, said adapter defining a socket confronting said U-shaped spring to receive one end of a bit, a bit, said bit and said socket defining interlocking keying means to corotatably seat and retain said bit within said adapter, whereby when said selector means is moved to combination driving position, the handle and adapter are locked for corotation and when said selector means is moved to reverse and forward driving positions the grip and adapter are locked for corotation in one direction of rotation only.
 2. In the detachable bit hand tool of claim 1 in which said shaft defines a pair of prongs staked over to anchor said U-shaped spring to said shaft.
 3. In the detachable bit hand tool of claim 1 in which said U-shaped spring is horseshoe-shaped and said bit end defines concave sections snap-connectable to said spring for quick-release and quick-connection of the bit to the hand tool. 